He never expected that, as the chairman of a company with a market value of hundreds of billions, he would one day be scolded like a grandson.

Right in front of Colin Faulkner, a rugged, dark-skinned, and tough-looking man in his forties was not only slamming the table with loud ‘thuds’, but also spitting as he shouted, spraying saliva all over Colin Faulkner’s face: “Currently, there are only fifty-seven students from Mingde University who have made it into the top one thousand. Is this the result you’re showing from Mingde University?

Very good, really very good. The Education Bureau allocates more than six billion in subsidies to Mingde University every year, and this year it’s as high as 8.35 billion. Yet among your graduates, you can’t even produce sixty A-level Variant Walkers. Is this how Mingde University repays the Federation? Did I just feed my 8.35 billion Federation credits to the dogs? No, if I fed it to dogs, at least they’d know to wag their tails at me in gratitude.”

Colin Faulkner really wanted to punch the Education Director in the face.

This guy surnamed Li actually dared to say he was worse than a dog?

But Colin Faulkner glanced at the man’s burly physique and those fists as big as soup pots, and barely managed to restrain his temper.

Before coming, he had read the information collected by his secretary.

This Director Thompson had been a powerful federal major general just half a year ago, famous in the military for his formidable combat strength, tough and fiery personality, and rebellious nature.

It was precisely because he was too tough that he was kicked out of the military two months ago.

However, Director Thompson’s background and influence were not to be underestimated. No sooner had he retired than he transformed into the Education Director of the Ninth Base City.

In this era, the Education Bureau shoulders the responsibility of cultivating Variant Walkers and Armored Warriors, making it one of the most powerful and prestigious departments in the government.

The key point is, this guy was even able to launch a sweeping education reform right after taking office.

“Do you have any idea what the Variant Academy means to the Federation? Look at that planet outside.”

Director Thompson raised his hand and pointed to the glass curtain wall on the left side of the conference room.

Colin Faulkner followed Director Thompson’s finger and looked over.

Through the huge floor-to-ceiling window, he could see a blue planet outside.

That was Sky Pole Star!

Even with a distance of 820,000 kilometers between them, the planet still appeared enormous in Colin Faulkner’s field of vision, occupying more than half of his view.

“—Have you read the Federation Security Bureau’s security white paper? Do you know how many general-level powerhouses are currently in the atmosphere of Sky Pole Star? And how many marshal-level?

That’s a sleeping lion, possessing power we can’t even imagine. If they ever awaken and break out of Sky Pole Star’s atmosphere, they could easily tear the entire Earth Federation to shreds! Without enough Variant Walkers, without a large number of Armored Warriors, what do we have to fight them with?”

Of course Colin Faulkner knew how dangerous that beautiful planet outside was.

Since the beginning of the Great Colonization Era, human technology had developed rapidly, and their colony planets had increased just as quickly. In just 2,000 years, the territory of the Earth Federation had expanded from the solar system to over 1,200 light-years away.

Humanity became high-spirited, thinking themselves invincible, only to hit a wall on this planet.

When people first discovered Sky Pole Star, they were filled with joy at the prospect of newfound wealth and alien civilization. They assembled an expedition fleet of 1,300 warships of various types and two million personnel, intending to enlighten Sky Pole Star with civilization—just as the West had “civilized” Africa in the Earth era.

Yet this massive fleet, gathering all the Earth Federation’s war technology, was completely destroyed within just one hour of entering Sky Pole Star’s atmosphere.

The terrifying part was, the force that wiped out this expedition fleet was just a local power within Sky Pole Star.

Humanity has been learning from the Sky Pole Star people for eight hundred years, trying to master the immense power they possess, but to this day, they are still far behind.

Colin Faulkner gracefully wiped the spit from his face and said sincerely, “Director Thompson, ever since our Tianlan Biotech Group acquired Mingde University, the school’s overall educational standards have been improving. Judging from the current practical assessment results, our students’ performance has made great progress. The number of students entering the top thousand has increased by as much as eight percent year-on-year—”

“Pfft!”

Before Colin Faulkner could finish, several other university chairmen at the meeting couldn’t help but snicker.

An eight percent year-on-year increase meant there were fifty-three last year and fifty-seven this year, and that wasn’t even the final result.

Colin Faulkner felt a bit embarrassed, his gaze turning cold and sharp as he swept over the others present, finally settling on a chubby man by the conference table whose face resembled the Laughing Buddha.

“David Warren, what are you laughing at? What kind of mess is your Second City University in? Do you have any right to laugh at me?”

This guy was also a university chairman, but his status in the business world was far inferior.

Colin Faulkner couldn’t do anything about Director Thompson, but he certainly didn’t care about the others present.